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Battle rages for Chadian capital

Opposition alliance advances to centre of Ndjamena while fighting government forces.

02 Feb 2008 14:01 GMT

The opposition alliance advanced to the capital during its battle with government forces

Speaking at 1pm (1200GMT), Mutasa said the opposition fighters had advanced to the immediate vicinity of the presidential palace and the area where the expatriates were seeking refuge.

Battle in capital

Government forces battled the opposition near the presidential palace and seemed to be moving through the city freely.

Profile: Chad

Capital:

NdjamenaPopulation:

10.4m

President Idriss Deby seized power in a Libyan-backed coup in 1990

He went on to win the Chad's first two multi-party elections in 1996 and 2001

A ceasefire signed between Deby and four rebel groups in October recently collapsed

The largest rebel group, the Union of Forces for Democracy and Development, is led by a former minister who accuses Deby of corruption

The whereabouts of Idriss Deby, the president the rebels seek to overthrow, was not known.

State television services have been suspended.

State radio services have also gone off the air, according to Ibni Oumar Mahamat Saleh, an opposition alliance leader.

Mutasa said that French troops were stationed outside hotels housing French nationals, as well as the French embassy. At least 1,500 French people live in Chad.

"The [Chadian] civilians are looking out for themselves. Some Chadian forces are in town, but most of them have been sent out where the fighting has happened," she said.

Chadian government troops are guarding the presidential palace, the defence ministry and the official radio station building.

African leaders condemned the opposition alliance's march on Ndjamena at an African Union (AU) summit in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.

"The assembly strongly condemns the attacks perpetrated by armed groups against the Chadian government and demands that an immediate end be put to these attacks and resulting bloodshed," the declaration said.

Fierce fighting

A day earlier, Chad's military said it had defeated the opposition fighters in Massaguet, which lies about 50km northeast of the capital.

Amad Allam-Mi, Chad's foreign minister, said late on Friday that the opposition alliance had been prevented from reaching Ndjamena.